It’s peony(Paeonia) time here in North Carolina.
I love all types. Singles, semi-doubles and doubles.
The doubles are trouble though.
They have such heavy blooms that they have to be staked. Otherwise they dip down to the ground, especially after a rain.
I keep a supply of green stakes with open-ringed tops for this purpose.
Peonies like full sun and well-drained acidic soil. They do not like to be divided.
If you must, divide them in the fall. Plant shallow. Side dress with compost.
FLOWER
It’s just like some to show up only when things are good.
Here are two of my buddies that appear when the sun shines.
Slim is not our biggest nor boldest. He is an acrobat.
I sit and watch him move as though I am the one being charmed.
Plop decided he needed to down-size this spring.
He usually perches overlooking the Koi pond.
Since the largest fish is now huge,
he feels more secure by the door in the Shubunkins’ above-ground pond.
FLOWER loves her friends.
I have been paddling against the tide.
If I use strong strokes, I can maintain my position.
In sight of the shore of my intended landing.
If I weaken, I get pulled out farther and farther.
Into the deep, wild sea that may bring me down.
I am tired. I am older.
I wait for the tide to turn and bring me in,
but it hasn’t.
I am ready to put down the paddle.
Let the tide have me.
Maybe I have been headed toward the wrong shore all these years
and fate has kept me from landing
in the wrong place.
FLOW
We had a hard rain yesterday evening.
My houseplants get booted outside for storms.
Now that the sun is back, they must be dragged back in before scorching.
The main job now is in the garden. Everything got really wet and heavy.
So I put on my rubber clogs to assess the needs of the day.
CUT the flopped over bearded iris stems and the shriveled old blooms off.
PULL the ten thousand weeds. (9, 000 are sweet peas.)
STAKE the tall stalks and stems of iris and peonies.
I shall not complain about the rain.
FLOWER
April is the month of the bearded iris here in North Carolina.
I have one old type from my daddy’s mother’s garden.
I moved many iris onto this bank last summer. They have never been happier.
The rest of my iris are hybrids.
They came from Cooley’s in Oregon over twenty years ago.
This is just the first wave of iris. There will be more in the coming weeks.
The next parade will be the peonies. Here is the first bloom.
Ahhhhh spring at last!
FLOWER
I gave my daddy a plane ride for Christmas. He didn’t get airborne until this Saturday.
He went up in a little plane from a small airport near our home.
It was not a Piper Cub like he and his dad had in the 1950’s. No matter.
Daddy was the unofficial co-pilot.
My two adult children got to go along. Lucky ducks!
I felt like I was lifting off with them as I watched them take off. What a thrill!
I knew my daddy was being transported back to his teenage years.
My daddy and my children were up there in the sky making a memory.
The pilot knew this was no ordinary thrill ride. This was a trip back in time.
FLOWER
This little bloomer is from the forests of Mexico and South America.
It needs porous soil and indirect light.
The simple, pink, tubular flowers open during the day and close at dusk.
The buds just began to open this week, though they have been fully formed for weeks.
Its name is Rhipsalidopsis. Its leaf sections look similar to Schlumbergera except there are no points.
FLOWER
I love tiny plants. They are perfect for planting in troughs and my fairy garden.
Here are two of my favorites.
Ledebouria cooperi ‘Jessop’ has tiny bulbs.
The leaves have copper stripes. Its blooms are a lovely lavender. Its buds look like grape clusters.
The other little lovely is a Delosperma/Ice Plant named ‘Fire Spinner.’
It is just starting to bloom. Soon this patch will be glowing in the sun.
It really does look like it is on fire.
Both of these plants are easy to grow. I have planted them in numerous places in my gardens. They like sun and well-drained soil. All are growing happily.
FLOWER
floweralley 